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The 50 Best K-pop Albums of 2019
2019 was a great year for K-pop and k-pop albums in general.
It saw many new K-pop artists make their debut, and followed the continuous rise of the biggest and best K-pop artists.
We saw several K-pop artists take on World Tours, conquering not only Asia but also Australia, Europe and the Americas, grabbing more international fame and awareness.
It was a year of great k-pop songs, which can be enjoyed into 2020, and there were fantastic new releases every month which comprised of catchy beats, creative lyrics, impressive music videos, and cool fashion stylings.
There’s no question that 2019 was a defining time for K-pops place in popular culture.
Whether it was new releases from brand new acts or ones from the biggest names in the industry, all of the k-pop albums released in 2019 gave k-pop fans around the world, something new to enjoy and appreciate.
This list consists of the best-selling k-pop albums of 2019 and was put together using data from Onehallyu.
Here are the 50 top-selling K-pop Albums of 2019:
50. MAMAMOO – Reality in Black
MAMAMOO released their 2nd album, “Reality in Black”, in November 2019, just after winning TV show, Queendom Competition.
The album has 11 tracks which have been variously written by all members, with “HIP” serving as the album’s lead track.
49. Super Junior D&E – Danger
Super Junior D&E is a subunit of boy band Super Junior, members Donghae and Eunhyuk released their third mini-album “Danger” on April 14, 2019.
For this comeback, the duo tried to produce a darker sound, which contrasts well with their previous work.
48. Stray Kids – Clé 2: Yellow Wood
“Clé 2: Yellow Wood” is considered as the first “special album” and sixth piece by Stray Kids.
It was released on June 19, 2019, with “Side Effects” being the main focus track and consists of all the “mixtapes” from the previous mini-albums.
47. Red Velvet – The ReVe Festival: Day 1
Red Velvet made their comeback with “The ReVe Festival Day 1” as a prelude to the group’s upcoming tour.
The name of the album stands for Red Velvet plus “ReVe” which means, dream and fantasy in French.
It was released on June 19 and features two different versions, Day 1 Ver and Guide Book Ver.
46. TAEMIN – WANT
“Want” is the second Korean album by Taemin, a member of the boy group SHINee.
It was released February 11, 2019, and features seven tracks along with the lead single “Want”.
A showcase to perform the whole album was held on the same day as the release date of the EP, where Taemin also had talked about the making of the album.
45. Park Jihoon – 360
Park Jihoon, a member of Wanna One, released his second mini-album “360” on December 4, 2019.
The physical album comes in three versions: 0 Degrees, 180 Degrees, and 360 Degrees.
The title track is in the style of deep house, with a groovy beat that showcases Park Ji Hoon’s confidence and chic voice.
44. Astro – Blue Flame
ASTRO came back with their sixth mini-album, titled “Blue Flame”, which they released on November 20.
It marked their return since their last comeback in January 2019, with “All Night”.
This time the boy group exposes their mature charm throughout the album, showing fans a new side to each of the members.
43. Lee Jin Hyuk – S.O.L
UP10TION ’s Lee JinHyuk debuted as a solo artist with his first mini-album “S.O.L”.
His lead track, “I Like That”, is a mix between trap and EDM.
After being a participant of Mnet “Produce X 101”, he started receiving a lot more attention, appearing in magazines, variety shows and overseas fan meetings.
Lee JinHyuk is a great artist to watch in 2020 and perfect for international K-pop Album Wholesale.
42. WINNER – Cross
WINNER dropped their third EP, “Cross”, on October 23, 2019.
This album has 6 brand new tracks, including two solos by Lee Seung Hoon and Kang Seung Yoon.
The meaning behind the album is that the members “paths crossed”. They managed to come together even though there were from four different backgrounds.
41. ATEEZ – Treasure Ep 3: One to All
ATEEZ introduced six new songs with “Treasure Ep 3: One To All”, full of technicolour aesthetic and summer-inspired vibes.
Aside from the previously teased tracks “Illusion” and “Wave”, the boys will also be treating their fans to songs such as “Utopia”, “Crescent”, “Aurora”, and “Dancing Like Butterfly Wings”.
40. Kim Jaehwan – Another
Kim Jae Hwan’s solo debut mini-album “Another” was released on May 20.
It includes six songs brand new songs, with “Begin Again” serving as the album’s lead track.
The singer co-composed each of the tracks as well as co-wrote lyrics for four songs.
39. The Boyz – Bloom Bloom
The Boyz made their comeback on April 29 with their 2nd single K-pop album “Bloom Bloom”.
The spring-themed album features the lead track of the same name and two other songs, “Butterfly” and “Clover.”
All of the members are credited on the album for the lyrics of their songs.
38. Park Jihoon – O’Clock
Former “Wanna One” member, Park Ji-hoon, officially debuted as a solo artist with the EP, “O’Clock”, which was released on March 26.
This six-track album arrives just after Wanna One’s final concert before disbanding.
This time around, the singer wanted to project a more mysterious image.
37. Hwang ChiYeol – The Four Seasons
“The Four Seasons” is the second full-length album by Hwang ChiYeol, released on January 21, 2019.
This album is packed full of songs, including ballads, lively pop songs, and even one emotional track dedicated to purely his fans.
36. Astro – All Night
“All Light” is the first studio album by Astro, released on January 16, 2019.
It features 10 tracks in total, with “All Night” being the title track, which was produced by the British production team, LDN Noise.
35. Stray Kids – Clé 1: MIROH
Stray Kids released their fourth extended play “Clé 1: MIROH”, on March 25, 2019.
The name was inspired by the word “miro”, or “maze” in Korean.
The album consists of eight tracks, including the title track “Miroh”, produced by 3RACHA of Stray Kids (Bang Chan, Changbin, & Han).
34. ATEEZ – Treasure Ep Fin: All To Action
“Treasure Ep. Fin: All To Action” is ATEEZ’s first full album.
The last of their series, it’s comprised of three mini-albums and was released on October 8th, with “Wonderland” serving as the lead track.
33. Stray Kids – Clé: Levanter
“Clé: Levanter” is the third part of Stray Kids’ Clé (which means “key” in French) album series released on December 9, following “Clé 1: Miroh” in March and “Clé 2: Yellow Wood” in June.
“Levanter” is the lead single off the album, which also features pre-release tracks, “Double Knot” and “Astronaut”.
32. WINNER – WE
“WE” is WINNER‘s second mini-album, released on May 15, 2019, with “Ah Yeah” being the lead track.
All tracks were written by members Yoon, Mino, and Hoony, except for “ZOO,” which was written by Mino and Hoony.
31. U KNOW – True Colors
U-KNOW also known as Yunho, member of TVXQ, released his first solo album, “True Colors”, on June 12, 2019, fronted by the single “Follow”.
Apart from the lead single, the album features five more k-pop songs from the artist.
30. TXT – THE DREAM CHAPTER: STAR
TXT, or TOMORROW X TOGETHER, the newest boy group from Big Hit Entertainment, made their official debut on March 4 with “The Dream Chapter: Star”.
“Crown” was their lead track and the album features five more tracks that each show off the vocal versatility of each of the members.
29. AB6IX – 6IXENSE
AB6IX released his first album “6IXENSE” on October 7, 2019, which includes tracks like “Blind For Love”.
28. TAEYEON – Purpose
Taeyeon released her second studio album “Purpose” on October 28, 2019, two years after her previous album.
It features 12 tracks that showcase Taeyeon’s goals as both a person and singer and also tells the story of how music became the greatest purpose in her life.
27. AB6IX – B: COMPLETE
AB6IX officially debuted on May 22, 2019, with “B: COMPLETE“.
Even though the boy band is a new group on the k-pop scene, none of the members are strangers to k-pop since they all have been part of different k-pop groups before.
Their album features seven new tracks along with the title track, “Breath”.
26. CHEN – Dear My Dear
“Dear My Dear” is the second extended album by EXO’s member Chen.
Released digitally and physically on October 1st by SM Entertainment, the lead track, “Shall We?” and its MV, was released alongside the release of the album.
25. TXT – THE DREAM CHAPTER: MAGIC
TXT released their first studio album, “The Dream Chapter: MAGIC” on October 21, 2019.
The album tells the story of the members’ path as a new group and is a continuation from their debut album, “The Dream Chapter: STAR”, which was released early that year in March.
24. MONSTA X – We Are Here
MONSTA X dropped their third studio album, “We Are Here” on February 18, 2019.
The album consists of 10 tracks which includes the lead single, “Alligator” and “Play It Cool”, which is a collaboration with Steve Aoki.
This album is a follow up to “Are You There?”.
23. IU – Love poem
“Love Poem” is the seventh album by singer-songwriter IU.
It was released on November 18, 2019, and features lead single and title track “Love Poem”.
Other tracks on the album include, “Above the Time” and “Blueming”, which both have music videos.
22. NCT 127 – We Are Superhuman
NCT 127, sub-unit of NCT, released their 4th mini-album, “We Are Superhuman” on May 24, 2019.
The album features six songs in total, in which the lead track is described as a “bright and complex”.
21. MONSTA X – FOLLOW: FIND YOU
The mini-album titled, “FOLLOW: Find You”, by boy band MONSTA X was released on October 28, 2019, along with an explosive music video for their title track, “FOLLOW”.
The album also marks the last time member, “Wonho” participated as a member of the group before his departure.
20. CHEN – April, and a Flower
“April, and a Flower” is the solo debut mini-album by Chen which marked his debut as a solo artist.
It was released on April 1 with “Beautiful Goodbye” as the album’s lead track.
The EP features 6 tracks and was accompanied by an MV for the second track, “Beautiful Goodbye”.
This album is a perfect addition to any eCommerce or retail store looking to stock Chen’s new Solo albums.
19. BlackPink – Kill this Love
Continuing with BlackPink’s world domination, the girl group released their second album, “Kill This Love” on April 5.
The EP is a collection of 5 tracks and it featured the title single, which MV still has the record for the “most-watched music video” on YouTube in 24 hours.
18. TWICE – FANCY YOU
“Fancy You” is the seventh EP by Twice, which was released by JYP Entertainment on April 22, 2019.
The album features the lead single “Fancy” and also features artists MNEK and Charli XCX.
17. IZ*ONE – HEART*IZ
The girl group IZ*ONE released their second K-pop Album with “Heart*Iz”, pronounced as “heart eyes”, released on April 1st.
It’s available in two versions: “Violeta” and “Sapphire”, and consists of eight tracks with “Violeta” serving as its lead single.
This was the second time the group made a comeback after being formed through the 2018 Mnet reality competition show, Produce 48.
16. NU’EST – The Table
NU’EST’s 7th mini-album, “The Table”, includes 6 tracks: “Call Me Back”, the title song “Love Me”, “One Two Three”, “Trust Me”, “All Night”, and “If We Loved”. It was released on October 21 and unlike previous works, all of the songs are composed and written in part by member Baekho this time.
15. TWICE – Feel Special
Twice released their eighth EP “Feel Special” on September 23, which was their second release in 2019.
It features a lead single by the same name, described as “a vibrant, uplifting track from the hit girl group”.
14. GOT7 – SpinningTop
GOT7 released a brand new EP called “Spinning Top” on May 20, along with an MV for the record’s debut single, “Eclipse”.
GOT7 members, Jinyoung and BamBam, collaborated with J.Y. Park, Defsoul and other acts on the lyrics and composition.
13. GOT7 – Call My Name
“Call My Name” is the tenth extended album released by GOT7 on November 4, and features the lead single “You Calling My Name”.
While the boy band was in the final leg of their “Keep Spinning World Tour”, teasers for this album started being posted on GOT7’s social media in late October.
12. NU’EST – Happily Ever After
“Happily Ever After” is the sixth mini-album by NU’EST, released on April 29, featuring seven tracks, including lead single “Bet Bet” which was co-composed by member Baekho and co-written by members JR and Baekho.
11. NCT Dream – We Boom
NCT Dream, sub-unit of NCT, released “We Boom” on July 29, and the title track is considered a major release after Mark’s graduation from the group.
It features 5 brand new songs, which include “We Boom” and “Stronger” which were also promoted together by NCT Dream on music shows.
The Top 10 Best Selling K-pop Albums of 2019
As we get into the Top 10, it’s a good idea to take notice to the artists and albums listed below as they’re sure to push into 2020 with a lot of commercial success, making it a good idea for any Retailer or eCommerce business to stock these albums.
10. EXO SC – What a Life
As the first duo unit of boy group EXO, there was a lot of anticipation for EXO-SC which consists of members Chanyeol and Sehun, they debuted with the album “What a Life” on July 22. This gave an amazing opportunity to EXO-SC to showcase their chemistry as a unit.
9. Super Junior – Time_Slip
K-pop veterans, Super Junior made a comeback on October 14, with their album “Time_Slip” after almost two years from their last release.
This album features nine members, marking the return of Kyuhyun after his mandatory military service.
8. BTS – BTS WORLD OST
The “BTS WORLD OST” was the first time BTS recorded a game OST album, which includes 14 tracks of the theme songs and background music used in BTS WORLD, plus three previously released unit songs “Dream Glow”, “A Brand New Day” and “All Night”.
7. SEVENTEEN – You Made My Dawn
“You Made My Dawn” is the sixth album by SEVENTEEN, released on January 21, 2019, through Pledis Entertainment.
It debuted atop the Gaon Album Chart, Oricon Albums Chart and at number four on the US Billboard World Albums chart.
6. Kang Daniel – Color on Me
After departing from his Ex-Group Wanna One, Kang Daniel released his first album as a solo artist.
The album, “Color on Me” topped iTunes’ album charts in 15 countries and the lead track “What Are You Up To” grabbed the top spot on several real-time music charts.
5. Baekhyun – City Lights
Baekhyun, of k-pop group EXO, debuted as a soloist on July 10 with his album, “City Lights”.
This six-track EP showcased various new charms of Baekhyun as a solo artist that fans had never seen before.
4. X1 – Quantum Leap
“Quantum Leap” is the debut album by X1, a boy group created through the 2019 Mnet survival show Produce X 101.
The album was released digitally and physically on August 27, 2019, by Swing Entertainment.
3. EXO – OBSESSION
EXO’s 6th Album, “OBSESSION” was released on November 27th.
This album features a total of 10 songs in various colours & genres, including the powerful and catchy title song, ‘Obsession’, which is in both Korean and Chinese versions.
2. SEVENTEEN – An ode
SEVENTEEN released their third full-length album “An Ode” on September 16, 2019, with “Fear” serving as the album’s lead track.
It comes in two formats: CD (with five different versions: Begin, The Poet, Hope, Truth, and Real) and Kihno album.
1. BTS – Map of the Soul: Persona
“Map of the Soul: Persona” is the 6th extended album by BTS, it was released on April 12, 2019, and debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200, making BTS the first band since The Beatles to have three number-one albums in less than a year.
This continues as BTS’s popularity continues to grow across the globe, making this a perfect K-pop Album buy wholesale!
Summary
We hope you’ve enjoyed our list of the best k-pop albums of 2019.
What do think? Do you agree? Did you buy any of these K-pop albums last year?
What are the 50 best K-pop Albums of 2019? Here’s a quick recap:
50. MAMAMOO – Reality in Black
49. Super Junior D&E – Danger
48. Stray Kids – Clé 2: Yellow Wood
47. Red Velvet – The ReVe Festival: Day 1
46. TAEMIN – WANT
45. Park Jihoon – 360
44. Astro – Blue Flame
43. Lee Jin Hyuk – S.O.L
42. WINNER – Cross
41. ATEEZ – Treasure Ep 3: One to All
40. Kim Jaehwan – Another
39. The Boyz – Bloom Bloom
38. Park Jihoon – O’clock
37. Hwang ChiYeol – The Four Seasons
36. Astro – All Light
35. Stray Kids – Clé 1: MIROH
34. ATEEZ – Treasure Ep Fin: All to Action
33. Stray Kids – Clé: Levanter
32. WINNER – WE
31. U KNOW – True Colors
30. TXT – THE DREAM CHAPTER: STAR
29. AB6IX – 6IXENSE
28. TAEYEON – Purpose
27. AB6IX – B: COMPLETE
26. CHEN – Dear my dear
25. TXT – THE DREAM CHAPTER: MAGIC
24. MONSTA X – We Are Here
23. IU – Love Poem
22. NCT 127 – We Are Superhuman
21. MONSTA X – FOLLOW: FIND YOU
20. CHEN – April, and a Flower
19. BlackPink – Kill this Love
18. TWICE – FANCY YOU
17. IZ*ONE – HEART*IZ
16. NU’EST – The Table
15. TWICE – Feel Special
14. GOT7 – SpinningTop
13. GOT7 – Call My Name
12. NU’EST – Happily Ever After
11. NCT Dream – We Boom
10. EXO SC – What a Life
9. Super Junior – Time_Slip
8. BTS – BTS WORLD OST
7. SEVENTEEN – You Made My Dawn
6. Kang Daniel – Color on Me
5. Baekhyun – City Lights
4. X1 – Quantum Leap
3. EXO – OBSESSION
2. SEVENTEEN – An Ode
1. BTS – Map of the Soul: Persona
As you can see, there are some familiar names occupying the top spots on our list, like BTS, SEVENTEEN and EXO, however, new artists have also managed to do very well with their k-pop albums in 2019, such as Quantum Leap and Baekhyun’s City Lights Album.
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